From Joe Effiong, Uyo
Mr Ini Ememobong, a lawyer is the Publicity Secretary, Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He wants President Buhari to be sincere about his health status and toe the path of honour. This is even as he called for a referendum to decide the fate of agitators, especially, the Igbo in the Nigerian state, insisting that the Igbo should be allowed to go.
Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill health, some Nigerians have calling for his resignation, while others are calling for understanding. What is your take?
Much as I sympathize with Mr. President, it depends on the kind of illness… if it is prolonged and it is obvious that he may not recover, the President should know what to do. There are different types of illnesses. We have prolonged illnesses; we have brief illnesses. Incidentally, it is even brief illness that kills people more. In the current circumstances, the President has admitted that he has never been this sick. So, much as we sympathize with him, the President cannot be on sick leave forever. People who voted did not vote a sick President; or did not vote a President who should be on the sick bed forever. We voted a President whom we expect should be active and work. In the circumstance, one of the conditions for someone who aspires to public office is that such a person should be fit in body and mind.
Therefore if the President finds out that maybe, by reason of age or health complications, he is no longer capable or fit to govern Nigeria, then he can do what is honourable. He can do what he advised Yar’Adua to do or what he advised the federal executive council under Yar’Adua to do.
When the Vice President took over as acting, he alluded to the need for oil companies to relocate to operational base, but when the matter got to the House of Representatives, they rejected it. What does that portend?
It is to ask the leadership and members of the House of Representatives, and particularly to call our own representatives there to answer, because they fast tracked the passage of the North- East development bill. And anywhere in the world, one of the basics in citing an industry which is taught in basic economics is nearness to raw material. How come the raw material is in Ibeno and the headquarters is in Lagos? And you think that is equitable? You think that is fair? So it is for you journalists to ask the leadership and members of the House of Representatives, ask the people who represent us; they may be able to give us insight. Incidentally the relocation of IOCs is a matter that has assumed a notoriety; it’s a matter that should have been long forgotten, because, what does it take? The relocation would not take up to a percentage of what they make as profit. Don’t pollute the shores of Ibeno and enjoy yourself in Lagos. Where you live, work and earn, stay with them!
But Akwa Ibom state government too appears to be foot dragging on the issue, since the governor said he was giving Mobil 24 months to prepare. What do you think?
The governor is a strategist. The governor cannot in his position issue an ultimatum. The acting President spoke and gave directive. Now the governor did not give them 24months but said: ‘Look, the things you complain are not there, if you indicate to come, give me 24 months and I will make those things available.’ Because there were complaints made by the IOCs and the governor said; look, I can’t just go and invest if I don’t have your assurance, give me an assurance that you are moving in and I give you assurance the things you want would be ready. That’s the manner of a strategist.
For some time now, the agitators in the Niger Delta region have laid down their arms and IOCs are operating without threat. But there are fears that the position of the National Assembly might push them to take up arms again. Do you share this feeling?
Well the agitators read newspapers; they listen to radio and they watch television; they also watch the body language of government. If you look at the issue, it is not coincidental that the visit of the Acting President, led to relative peace in the region. It means that dialogue can bring peace; it means that anything that tends to thwart dialogue is an invitation to violence. Like it is said that ‘those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.’ it would not be surprising if the agitation starts again, because maybe they had thought they were closer to the mark. If you now take them farther away from the mark they must shout.
2019 is near, but PDP appears not ready, since it is still battling with leadership tussle. How can the party reinvent itself?
You see, life is a natural course; no one stays on one place forever. You have the mountain and you have the valley. PDP should be commended because the crisis in the party would have come since. Now show me a party that doesn’t have crisis. We have managed Nigeria economy for 16 years; now we are the opposition at the national and we are still in control of critical states in the country. What is politics? Politics is an aggregation of people under one roof, all of them looking for one thing. Why wouldn’t there be conflict? What you call the ruling party today has never conducted two elections with the same name. When they finished from AD, they became AC; they became ACN and then APC and they have had the crisis of selecting a national chairman. So, PDP is a truly democratic party and so in the process of the harmonization of these various interests there is bound to be conflict. We went to the convention with Sheriff in Port Harcourt; the same structure that produced him was the same structure that created the disagreement. It’s normal in human court. That is why it is allowed for the court to take a decision. If you check, the decision wouldn’t be who is in charge of PDP; the decision would be, between the process of bringing about the caretaker and the process of bringing about Sheriff, which process was right? The truth on the ground today is, when Makarfi calls a meeting, you find all the arms, you find BoT, you find Governors Forum there, you find National Assembly caucus there, you find everyone there. But when the other person calls, you see who you find there. So there is absolutely no question as to who is in charge. But the PDP remains a strong indivisible party, still functioning. The party does not exist in the national; the party exists in the ward, national is an associating headquarters, everyone belongs to a polling unit, everyone aggregates to a ward, a local government, and then aggregates to a state.
The South-Eastern zone has been agitating for independence, what is your take on this?
It is just like marriage, there is no need forcing somebody to stay in a marriage if the person considers it unproductive. And the marriage act says that a divorce can be granted, separation can be given, if the petition alleges that the other party has behaved in a way that makes it impossible for both of them to remain in the marriage. If the South-Easterners have ample evidence that they have not been treated fine in this marriage, excuse them! I don’t even know why you should be forcing someone to stay. The Great Britain feels:’ Look! We are not too sure of what is happening here, we are taking too much of the pressures from Europe, can you excuse us?’ That doesn’t make them enemies. Ireland said let’s conduct a referendum. Let’s conduct a referendum, if the South- Easterners feel that they are not treated well, let them go! You see, my fear is that with this forced marriage, forced divorce would come someday when that issue of interest has been depleted. Anybody that feels uncomfortable in the union called Nigeria should be excused. Let the zone go and take its deserved rest.